Being Real…10-16-15

Just off the phone with a local yoga teacher calling for an appointment for her ailing body. She talked about what it was like to stand in front of her class last night and name it. What it was like to watch the class do what she could not. What it was like to have a hard time accepting the sympathy extended after class. What it was like to be real. My body is no different than hers. My body is no different than yours. Lately I have been quite challenged. Hard times, whether they are mental or emotional or physical, come and go in life like that. No one is exempt. And through it all, the easy, the difficult, the neutral we are called upon to simply be real. Of course this is the topic of the upcoming workshop: Being Real with Adam Barley November 6-8. I asked Adam to speak in my place today and so these words are from London….bella

P.S. Since he’ll be here, I asked him to teach Thursday Night Waves November 5. So whether you are joining us or not for the workshop….do drop in.

Back in 1991 just before I really got into the 5Rhythms, a psychic told me he could see “America” written above my head in neon lights. I’d never been drawn to travel to the States so I was quite taken aback, but within a year I was dancing in California with Gabrielle, and I’d fallen in love with the place as well as the dance. I am delighted to be coming over the water again in November, and to dive into the roots of this incredible practice with all of you.

Here’s a recent blog post I wrote titled The Tyranny of Authenticity

I often have people asking me, clearly troubled, about how they can be more authentic in their movement. They’re seeking total authenticity in their movement as a goal.

I empathize. Been there.

What I’ve found is that seeking authenticity like this as a goal quickly becomes a monstrous inner tyrant.

Fuck it! Dance! What if it didn’t matter?

What if in fact, you cannot ever be anything other than authentic in your movement? Your body is the one part of you that is reliably 100% present and 100% real. It never goes anywhere other than here /now, and it is incapable of being inauthentic. All that stuff about being honest etc is to do with your feelings and thoughts. But the body itself – it’s always right there being itself. It’s not even a question. So if you find yourself straining to be authentic, or head-tripping about that, you could just shift your attention to the body and let it lead the way. Let the body come first. If you let go of all those ideas about who you are in this moment and how you can embody that, and simply trust your body with all of that, you don’t need to think about it.

Or another way around: if you’re divided from yourself, fighting yourself, etc, that’s what’s going to show up in your dance. How about being interested in that state of division rather than striving for some idea of how you should be? When did you last investigate in-authenticity with genuine curiosity and artistry? Fascinating……

“The body doesn’t lie” Gabrielle Roth

Being real is a no-brainer of course when we’re moving. It just happens. There’s nowhere else to go. Move, breathe, and be present with what arises. That’s enough.

See you there?

Adam